Thursday, April 9, 2009

Rediscovering the Past

My recent focus on landscapes along the coast has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience, an epiphany of sorts. I have found inspiration in the coastal beauty near my home and the exploration involved in finding new locations has rejuvenated my photography.

In this process, I enjoy scouting out beaches and coves I have never been to before. Discovering a spot that has existed for millennium but is brand new to me is indeed very exciting. Kind of like that feeling you get when you start dating someone you really like. I am infatuated with finding new spots.

But the last couple days, I have found myself going back to spots I felt I knew, places I camped at and visited frequently, albeit in my youth over a decade ago. The top shot is from Davenport Cove, the beach directly in front of the town. The shot below is from Scotts Creek Beach, just a few miles north of Davenport.

Scotts Creek was a favorite camping place of mine and later was a field site for an intertidal class I took in college, so I have many fond memories from here. It is truly inspiring to find new beauty, and to see a familiar place with new eyes looking for ways to capture all the angles and light.

Now, I am rediscovering the past, and it's like running into an old friend. There's so much to catch up on.